Exploiting virtual prototyping for reliability assessment

Products manufactured by the electronics sector are having a major impact in telecommunications, transportation space applications, biomedical applications, consumer products, intelligent hand held devices, and of course,the computer. Demands from end-users in terms of greater product functionality, adoption of environmentally friendly materials, and further miniaturization continually pose several challenges to electronics companies. In the context of electronic product design and manufacture, virtual prototying software tools are allowing companies to dramatically reduce the number of phsysical prototypes and design iterations required in product development and hence reduce costs and time to market. This paper details of the trends in these technolgies and provides an example of their use for flip-chip assembly technology.

'Adoption success': the reality of adoptive placements today

In order to make adoption a true success story for adoptive parents and their children the number of adoptive placements that disrupt needs to become a key target. At present approximately 20 per cent of all adoptive placements breakdown. This paper discusses the issues and difficulties facing adoptive families, using literature and personal experience, and suggests strategies and interventions that social workers need to be implementing if the disruption rate is to decrease.

Memorandum submitted by the University of Greenwich: are the consumer price increases for electricity imposed in January 2008 justified?

This paper examines whether increases to published wholesale prices justify the retail electricity price increases imposed on residential consumers in January 2008. The study is based on analysis of two questions: Is the reported wholesale price a reliable indicator of the cost electricity retailers are paying to buy power; and is the corporate structure of the British electricity sector competitive? [Taken from first paragraph of summary]